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tomrainking
join:2010-03-29
Gibbstown, NJ

tomrainking

Member

[X1] X1, to get or not to get...cost?

I called comcast the other day about getting x1 and am not sure what I should do, and am looking for some advice. It is available in my area (Gloucester County, Southern NJ). The operater didn't really have too much of a grasp on what was involved in the switch so i have a few questions i'd like to get answered before I go to it...
I have triple play with 2 HD DVR STB's.
1. Will it cost any more? The operator said it was 9.95 per box but that it would "replace" the cost of my existing box. Is there a net increase or would the bill for the boxes be the same?

2. Service call or pickup? Do I have to schedule a service call to have the boxes installed or can i exchange the boxes myself? I think i'd like a service call but wanted to see the options here.

3. We also have an SD box in our garage, would that need to be changed out as well or can that stay?

gar187er
I DID this for a living
join:2006-06-24
Seattle, WA

gar187er

Member

They say its only available to new customers, this is due to logistics.

Most offices do not have the box in stock as it is shipped from central warehouses to new customers. Some areas might have them on hand, but not many.
aguiar0016
join:2006-01-23
New Bedford, MA

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Not sure for your area, for here there was no extra monthly cost,

truck roll is required for install to check signal levels to box (boxes)

SD box stay as is but keep in mind it will have the old guide.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf to gar187er

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to gar187er
Down by me of the Toms River (Central Jersey) area its available to existing customers as well but a truck roll is required as the offices don't stock them and only the technicians have access to them.
I wanna know how much is the installation and truck roll?
acheck
join:2013-01-01
Manchester, NH

acheck to tomrainking

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Since you have 2 DVRs currently, I would wait until they fix the DVR issues they are having right now with the X1 boxes.

Currently, your scheduled section of the DVR does not display conflicts so every night you have to scroll through the complete guide to find a conflict.

owlyn
MVM
join:2004-06-05
Newtown, PA
Netgear CM2050V
Netgear RBRE960
Netgear RBSE960

owlyn to tomrainking

MVM

to tomrainking
Yesterday, I spoke withg an engineer who works next to the X1 engineers. He suggests waiting at least 8 months to get the X1, as this is how long they expect it to take to fix all the bugs (and add any planned new features and debug those).

I was planning on waiting even before that, but at least now I know how long those working on it expect it to take.

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

mikedz4

Member

8 months? are you kidding me?

egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA

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well i woke up this morning and the x1 box was refusing to show picture and wouldn't respond to remote commands. I ended up having to unplug it from the back and then restart it. After a 3 minutes wait, it slowly started to function again. Don't get it wrong folks, this box is still VERY buggy. I mean it's functional, but clearly it is not ready for prime time use.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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I just want to know when the hell I'm going to be able to access my RNG200N boxes over the internet like I'm supposed to. For at least a year now I get a message on xfinity.net that "DVR Manager is available in your area. However, we are
unable to detect a compatible DVR in your household." And I want to be able to watch my recorded shows on my tablet. Verizon is able to do it, so is DirecTV, hell even Time Warner Cable, Time to get with the program.

egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA

egeek84

Premium Member

i think that's a bug cuz i remember that happening to me with my RNG200N and even my X1 that I have now, I can't remember how I fixed it but try logging into stuff and clicking around, I remember there was a way I could enable it

gate1975mlm
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Philadelphia, PA

gate1975mlm to mikedz4

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to mikedz4
said by mikedz4:

8 months? are you kidding me?

In Comcast terms 8 months is more like 8 years LOL

I have had bugs on my current DVR for the last 4 or so years and they have never been fixed!

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad to Mike Wolf

MVM

to Mike Wolf
said by Mike Wolf:

I just want to know when the hell I'm going to be able to access my RNG200N boxes over the internet like I'm supposed to. For at least a year now I get a message on xfinity.net that "DVR Manager is available in your area. However, we are unable to detect a compatible DVR in your household."

It looks like support for DVR Manager with SA/Cisco DVRs will be added with the S26 guide update, which is supposed to be released in our area soon: »Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

mikedz4
join:2003-04-14
Weirton, WV

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to gate1975mlm
there have been bugs with dvrs from comcast since they were released.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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I'm still waiting for the firmware update to the cablecards to fix the "channel not authorized" message that I've been experiencing since around November 2011 and I think was told would be rolled out March of 2012 and yet still waiting in 2013.
Mike Wolf

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Do I need to attach any Ethernet cables to the RNG200N DVR's?

egeek84
Premium Member
join:2011-07-28
Livermore, CA

1 edit

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..
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

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said by Mike Wolf:

Do I need to attach any Ethernet cables to the RNG200N DVR's?

No

The firmware changes for cable cards should be downloaded at the same time you get the S26 Guide. You need the S26 Guide and some plant software may need to be updated before the DVR Manager will work over the internet. In at least one area the DVR Manager didn't work for a couple of weeks even after the S26 Guide was downloaded because the plant software hadn't been updated.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

OK now the more important question is "AnyPlay" and "AnyRoom DVR" yay or nay for the RNG200N ?
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by Mike Wolf:

OK now the more important question is "AnyPlay" and "AnyRoom DVR" yay or nay for the RNG200N ?

That is a more difficult question to answer. Comcast uses the RNG200N model name in both SA/Cisco and Motorola STB areas.

In the Motorola STB areas, AnyRoom DVR functionality is already available.

In the SA/Cisco areas, AnyRoom DVR functionality is only available if that area has On-Screen Guide 2.0, which is currently only in 6 or 7 states. It requires the Cisco RNG 200N DVR.

The X1 Guide currently doesn't support AnyRoom DVR functionality, but Comcast has plans to support it in the future. The X1 Guide currently only works with the Pace X1 Gateway, but Comcast has plans to support the X1 Guide on the more modern Motorola and SA/Cisco STBs (RNG 200N) that can support the Tru2way functionality.

I don't know what software guide or STB is needed for AnyPlay.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

telcodad

MVM

said by Russ6:

said by Mike Wolf:

OK now the more important question is "AnyPlay" and "AnyRoom DVR" yay or nay for the RNG200N ?

That is a more difficult question to answer. Comcast uses the RNG200N model name in both SA/Cisco and Motorola STB areas.

In the Motorola STB areas, AnyRoom DVR functionality is already available.

In the SA/Cisco areas, AnyRoom DVR functionality is only available if that area has On-Screen Guide 2.0, which is currently only in 6 or 7 states. It requires the Cisco RNG 200N DVR.
:
I don't know what software guide or STB is needed for AnyPlay.

Mike Wolf See Profile and I are in an SA/Cisco area here in NJ. We're supposed to get the S26 update next month. Don't know when we can expect to get OSG 2.0.

The AnyPlay service (»info.xfinity.com/Portal/ ··· dex.aspx), which is "currently not available in all areas," does not require the use of a particular STB or OSG software, but the use of an "AnyPlay device" as described/pictured in this article »www.multichannel.com/con ··· -comcast
EDIT: And also this one: »www.cedmagazine.com/news ··· i-router

Also see: »Comcast Rolling Out Anyplay
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by telcodad:

said by Russ6:

said by Mike Wolf:

OK now the more important question is "AnyPlay" and "AnyRoom DVR" yay or nay for the RNG200N ?

That is a more difficult question to answer. Comcast uses the RNG200N model name in both SA/Cisco and Motorola STB areas.

In the Motorola STB areas, AnyRoom DVR functionality is already available.

In the SA/Cisco areas, AnyRoom DVR functionality is only available if that area has On-Screen Guide 2.0, which is currently only in 6 or 7 states. It requires the Cisco RNG 200N DVR.
:
I don't know what software guide or STB is needed for AnyPlay.

Mike Wolf See Profile and I are in an SA/Cisco area here in NJ. We're supposed to get the S26 update next month. Don't know when we can expect to get OSG 2.0.

The AnyPlay service (»info.xfinity.com/Portal/ ··· dex.aspx), which is "currently not available in all areas," does not require the use of a particular STB or OSG software, but the use of an "AnyPlay device" as described/pictured in this article »www.multichannel.com/con ··· -comcast
EDIT: And also this one: »www.cedmagazine.com/news ··· i-router

Also see: »Comcast Rolling Out Anyplay

I don't think your area will get On-Screen Guide 2.0, instead it will go directly to the X1 Guide, see
»Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

Comcast changed its plans for Houston. It will go directly to the X1 Guide and skip On-Screen Guide 2.0, see »Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

Comcast is moving to use the "cloud" in place of an AnyRoom DVR, see »Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

said by Russ6:

I don't think your area will get On-Screen Guide 2.0, instead it will go directly to the X1 Guide, see
»Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

Yeah, I forgot about that (and it was my post)!
Joe12345678
join:2003-07-22
Des Plaines, IL

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where are they getting the bandwidth for cloud dvr without SDV??

Will they use IP? if so will they count as part of the cap? Will cloud tv data load up the nodes??

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

1 edit

telcodad

MVM

From the articles I've seen about Comcast's "Cloud DVR" service (»www.lightreading.com/net ··· 40144700 and »www.lightreading.com/net ··· 40136612), it's supposed to work similar to the "DVR Plus" RS-DVR system that Cablevision offers (»optimum.custhelp.com/app ··· dvr-plus), which appears to use a VoD-like, Video QAM carrier-based method (and not IP) and can be viewed on many regular-model STBs in the subscriber's home.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

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When you go into the Cisco or SA DVR diagnostic page and scroll to the HDD Info page it shows the hard drive capacity, model number, and serial number of both the internal hard drive and external eSATA hard drive. I've noticed this on both the SA8300HD and on the RNG200N except on the RNG200N the model number and serial number is blank. I've also noticed this feature on the TiVo »i24.tinypic.com/14azz89.jpg

I'm hoping we'll see this feature more closely integrated into the new guides and equipment.

SeattleMatt
Streaming Tech Director
Premium Member
join:2001-12-28
Seattle, WA

SeattleMatt to Joe12345678

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said by Joe12345678:

where are they getting the bandwidth for cloud dvr without SDV??

Will they use IP? if so will they count as part of the cap? Will cloud tv data load up the nodes??

Joe-
At least in my region, they're sitting on 15+ open QAM's right now - there's plenty of bandwidth.
TurboDan
join:2006-06-08
Lavallette, NJ

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said by Mike Wolf:

Down by me of the Toms River (Central Jersey) area its available to existing customers as well but a truck roll is required as the offices don't stock them and only the technicians have access to them.
I wanna know how much is the installation and truck roll?

Mike, I haven't been on the boards in a couple months (Sandy damage, etc. to blame) but is X1 available for just Comcast of TR or is available in Ocean and LBI as well?

I'd be interested in trying it out, bugs and all. My old SA8300 has been annoying me lately as it is noisier than ever. I've also absolutely hated iGuide since it replaced SARA last year and would do anything to change to a better UI.

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

First, I'm glad your back and hope things are getting better in your area.

Second, According to what I've been told its available for all of Ocean County so your area should be covered as well but you'd need a truck rollout. I can give you the number to my X1 tech in PM if you would like. Also I'm hearing that a lot of bugs are going to be fixed in the upcoming S26 rollout and shortly there after Guide 2.0 although I believe the latter will require you to upgrade to the RNG200N which I recommend. I swapped out my SA8300HD when it caught fire for the RNG200N and I'm impressed. Now I have one RNG200N that runs a Western Digital 500GB AV-GP drive »www.wdc.com/en/products/ ··· x?id=150 and one RNG200N that runs a Seagate 500GB Pipeline HD AV drive »www.seagate.com/internal ··· line-hd/

The 8300HD runs a Maxtor (Now owned by Seagate) 160GB QuickView AV drive and just doesn't compare to the quality the new AV purposed drives have plus are stone dead quiet.

Personally I'm using external hard drives to add onto the overall capacity and have been really impressed with the Seagate DVR Expander. Comes in 1TB and 2TB capacities. »www.seagate.com/external ··· xpander/
Russ6
join:2011-03-17
Houston, TX

Russ6

Member

said by Mike Wolf:

First, I'm glad your back and hope things are getting better in your area.

Second, According to what I've been told its available for all of Ocean County so your area should be covered as well but you'd need a truck rollout. I can give you the number to my X1 tech in PM if you would like. Also I'm hearing that a lot of bugs are going to be fixed in the upcoming S26 rollout and shortly there after Guide 2.0 although I believe the latter will require you to upgrade to the RNG200N which I recommend. I swapped out my SA8300HD when it caught fire for the RNG200N and I'm impressed. Now I have one RNG200N that runs a Western Digital 500GB AV-GP drive »www.wdc.com/en/products/ ··· x?id=150 and one RNG200N that runs a Seagate 500GB Pipeline HD AV drive »www.seagate.com/internal ··· line-hd/

The 8300HD runs a Maxtor (Now owned by Seagate) 160GB QuickView AV drive and just doesn't compare to the quality the new AV purposed drives have plus are stone dead quiet.

Personally I'm using external hard drives to add onto the overall capacity and have been really impressed with the Seagate DVR Expander. Comes in 1TB and 2TB capacities. »www.seagate.com/external ··· xpander/

I don't think your area will get On-Screen Guide 2.0, instead it will get the S26 Guide or you may be able to get the X1 Guide, see
»Re: New Guides for SA/Cisco Areas (Info from Ted Hodgins Blog)

Mike Wolf
join:2009-05-24
Tuckerton, NJ

Mike Wolf

Member

ahh come on dude we don't even know what S26 gives us and pretty sure the X1 guide won't run on the Cisco RNG200N boxes.